Getting Started and Set Up

The Getting Started Guide helps you learn how to navigate the platform and complete the one-time setup module for a smooth onboarding experience.This guide details each module in the ChildFriendly system and what each section is used for. Refer to detailed guides and videos for each component.

You can also download the PDF version of the guide at the bottom of this screen.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Important Notes Before Starting
• Set-Up: Organization Details
• Center Details
• Additional Setup Details: Spaces, Groups, Rates, Programs
• Families
• Staff
• Attendance
• Dashboard
• Communicate
• Finances
• Reports

Important Notes Before Starting

Please review the following important notes before you begin the setup process of your new ChildFriendly Pro account.

• Tab clarification - If you need clarification as to what any of the items are in the set-up module , click on the question mark beside the term, for a detailed explanation.
  
  

• Set-up mode - Setup mode should be enabled when setting up staff and families to prevent automatic welcome emails from being sent out. Once all setup is complete, you can turn off setup mode in order to send out emails to parents. You will need to de-select the set-up mode toggle in Setup>Centers.
  
  

Set-Up: Organization Details

1. Click the Setup icon on the bottom of the left-hand side menu to access the Setup module. Once in Setup, you will automatically first be in the Organization section. Here, you will add all details and terms for the overall organization, such as locations, discounts, and users.

      2.  To begin, enter all details about the organization in the Basic tab.

    3.  Continue clicking through the tabs from left to right, adding the following items. Detailed explanations and instructions
         for these items can be found in the training videos.

• Center/s: The physical childcare center/location.
• Locations: Any external locations your organization transports children to and from, i.e. schools for before and after car.
• Sponsors: Third party financial sponsors that pay fees on behalf of a child i.e. Government Subsidy Program.
• Discounts: Discounts that are routinely applied to a student’s tuition i.e. Employee Discount or Multiple Child Discount.
• Tasks: Used to allocate staff labour hours; helpful for payroll or government reporting, and selecting different pay rates.
• Catalog items: Specific charges that can be added to an invoice, such as late payment charges.
• Users: Add admin users to the system.

Center Details

1. Click the Center tab at the top of the Setup menu to access setup details for each center.

NOTE: If you are creating multiple centers, after initially entering all setup details (Spaces, Groups, Rates, and Programs), the center can then be cloned, with all information copied over.

      2.  The Basic section is where you will enter all details for the center. If you have multiple centers, you can switch 
           between these by clicking the Center drop-down arrow in the top right of the screen.

     3.  Continue clicking through the tabs from left to right, adding information for the following items. Detailed explanations
          and instructions for these items can be found in the training videos.

• •Age Group Dictionary: Age ranges you want to group students into. Generally, this should follow the regulatory guidelines in your region.

• Ratios: Team ratios are setup for each age group to meet government and licensing requirements for the children in the center.
• Customizations: This section includes custom email templates for online registration, immunization requirements for student records, health symptoms to identify and record, and prohibited foods for meals being served.
• Agreements and Policies: Used to add agreements you want parents to sign.
• Import Data: Allows you to import family member, student, and staff data you have from your existing system into ChildFriendly.

• Payment: Set up payment here using Rotessa for automatic withdrawal, or Stripe for credit card payments.

Additional Setup Details: Spaces, Groups, Rates, Programs

Continue clicking through the top left tabs to add necessary information. Refer to each quick training video on detailed instruction for each tab.

1. Spaces are physical rooms or spaces in the center which will be used for tracking attendance. Any spaces defined here will be able to have students or staff moved into them in the attendance module.

      2.  Groups are used to organize children into classes or cohorts. Groups determine the licensed capacity and available
           spaces within the center.

      3.  Rates are applied to registrations and determine how much will be automatically charged on automatic tuition billing
           per child. Rates automatically roll-over based on age groups.

      4.  Programs are the comprehensive child care plans which combine rates, groups, and scheduling for student
          registration. Programs are simply what parents will register into, and they drive what options are available for them via 
          the Online Registration form, based on the child’s age or grade as of the registration date.

      5.  Transport contains two areas:

• Transport Spaces refer to the transport spaces that are set up in the Space tab.
• Transport Groups is used to group children who are typically transported together, ex. children that all load onto the same bus each morning.
  
  

      6.  Schools is used to add any schools where you pick up or drop off children. These are defined in 
           Organization>Locations. This also determines what schools are available for a parent to register in.

Families

The next step is to view families and children in the system. You can import families in Center>Import Data, or you can manually add them one by one.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When importing families and staff into the ChildFriendly system, you will need to download the templates for families, students and staff, and then upload it under "Choose File" once the templates are filled out (and also note that families need to be uploaded before students).

1. Click the Families icon on the left-hand side menu.

• The Families tab is used to view families in the system. A list of children for each family displays here as well as the status of the registration and the program they are registered in. New families are added automatically through the online registration form, or they can be manually added here.
• Bulk Registrations is used when registering multiple children at once.

Staff

The next step in the set-up process is to add staff members to the system.

1. Click the Staff icon on the left-hand side menu.
2. In the Staff module, you can view all staff members and necessary personal details, and keep track of information such as criminal record checks and reviews. You are also able to manually add staff members here. Once a staff member is added, they will appear in a list on the main screen.
   
   

Attendance

Once you have set up spaces as well as the age group dictionary and ratios, you can add them to create the layout in the Attendance module. The Attendance module will be used frequently throughout the day, so it is important to ensure all staff

members view training guides and videos related to Attendance.

1. Click the Attendance icon on the left-hand side menu.

The Attendance area lets you create the layout of the center, with all spaces/rooms. This screen will be used regularly by staff members to sign themselves and children in and out, and to move around the center spaces throughout the day.

Dashboard

The Dashboard is used to keep track of enrollment, attendance, medications, incidents and illness, school RSVPs, meals, and any changes to family or students’ information such as name or payment changes. The Dashboard training guides and

videos provide detailed information on each section.

1. Click the first icon to view the main Dashboard screen.

Communicate

The Communicate module is used daily by staff members to communicate with parents. This module is also used by admin staff to create and send out emails to parents.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Instant messaging/conversations with parents can be viewed at any time by clicking the message icon in the top left of the screen.

1. Click the Communicate icon on the left-hand side menu.

      2.  The Email tab is where those with admin privileges can craft and send emails to parents.

      3.  The Journal tab is where staff members add journals to children’s files relating to a variety of activities or events, such as nap
            or meal time. This will be used frequently by those working in childcare rooms.

      4.  Marketing is used when copying the code to embed the registration form onto your website.

Finances

The Finances module displays information about billings, including payments, invoices, and settlements for each family/child. Detailed information on setting up financing and using this section can be found in the Financing training guides.

1. Click the Finances tab on the left-hand side menu to access this module.

Reports